So I used to clean my guns same day that I shot them at the range. As I’ve gotten older I have kinda abandoned the notion of needing to clean them right away. Sometimes I’ll just do it in a day or two, other times I’ll even go a week or two before cleaning. Now when I get to them I clean pretty well and meticulously.

I’ve recently read that the fouling can cause issues if left to sit on the gun and in the bore more than 24 hours, but I’ve never noticed this. I live in the Midwest and it gets humid though the guns are never put in the range bag wet and are always kept in a climate controlled environment at home while waiting to be cleaned. Many times I’ll wipe down the exterior at least within a day and then get to the cleaning whenever I can over the next week or two. I have no old military guns that shoot corrosive ammo so everything I shoot is of the current production non-corrosive variety.

I also never shoot more than 200-250 rounds per session. Usually it’s under 200 so the guns are not filthy. I don’t shoot them again unless I clean them first (which many people will say is not even necessary with modern autos), so I’m not running them all fouled up after sitting for weeks on end. I just may leave them on the workbench for a while before cleaning is all. What is wrong with that? I can’t imagine everyone gets to their guns the same day they shoot.

I'm with you, with todays powders I don't feel the need for cleaning right away. I feel your good to go, others may differ.

Only my carry guns. The rest mostly get a bore snake and a wipe down.

When I used to shoot with one of my best friends, at his sportsman's club, we'd sit down right there where we'd been shooting and clean our pistols before leaving the range.

Now that I shoot at public ranges, on my own, that's not an option even if I wanted to do it. So they get cleaned when they get cleaned.

I often bring two handguns and shoot no more than 100 rounds each, so, if I know I'll be going again soon, I may not clean one at all before the next range trip.

My buddy was utterly meticulous about it. They had to be cleaned, and I mean "white glove" clean, before leaving the range. One of his fellow club members used to tease him about it. This club member claimed he shot 'em until they started malfunctioning, then cleaned 'em

I'm not so picky as my buddy used to be, either. I'd say I go for "80% clean," as compared to what my buddy used to do.

E.g.: The bores get a couple passes with a bore snake, a couple passes with CLP'd patches, then a dry patch. That is unless the CLP'd patches keep coming out exceptionally dirty. If that happens: Out comes the Hoppe's and a bore brush

I do pay particular attention to areas crud tends to accumulate and cause problems. E.g.: Under the extractor.

Mine get cleaned every time they're shot, usually the same day but occasionally the next. I don't think that's absolutely necessary...it's just how I like to do it. I don't like putting a dirty gun back in my safe. It also provides an opportunity to inspect for any unusual wear or damage incurred during the range session.

More or less what ensigmatic posted, for me.

I have never even thought about cleaning them at the range, and I’m OCD about keeping my guns nice. I am gathering too that letting them sit for a few days to a couple weeks is perfectly fine, given they see no adverse conditions. I’ve seen no issues in many years of shooting though am always improving my methods and learning from others what has worked and hasn’t.

When I began shooting back in 1952, my dad made me clean whatever we had been shooting before we went home.

Sixty-seven years later, and with 33 years in the Army as well, I still do just that.

Shoot and clean - and then again the next day.

If not right away usually within a day or two.

quote:

I’ve recently read that the fouling can cause issues if left to sit on the gun and in the bore more than 24 hours

I don't buy it, unless you're shooting black powder.

Only my BP guns get cleaned after the range.
I clean my EDC whenever I shoot it, but all the others get cleaned when or if I feel like it.

I've eased up a tad in my desire for my firearms to be intensely clean. Now I settle for "very clean." I've also eased up on when I clean them. I usually still clean them the day of shooting, but I sometimes wait until the next day, and once in a blue moon, 2 days after shooting. I prefer cleaning them during the daytime for the better, natural lighting.

Only corrosive ammo guns get cleaned day of shooting. Everything else gets cleaned when it is dirty or needs lubrication.

I more often than not clean my guns after each range session. There are times when it happens a day or two later but that is rare. Strangely enough, I enjoy cleaning my guns almost as much as I enjoy shooting them. I find it satisfying and cathartic, often times allowing me to reflect on the range session I just came from. Sometimes that could be about the bonding experience other times a critical assessment of the training I was doing. In the days of corrosive ammo or black powder it was important to remove the fouling as quickly as possible. I don’t think waiting to clean in the era of modern powders will cause any measurable damage if any at all.

Some people have scoffed at my (not-absolute*) rule that I clean my guns only if I want them to work the next time I fire them. But their scoffing is oblivious to the fact that cleaning guns is about more than getting them clean. When we clean a gun we also inspect it, and although it’s unlikely the inspection will find anything other than that the gun is dirty, there are occasional exceptions.

When I was cleaning my high round count primary training AR just recently, I found that one of the locking lugs had broken off the bolt and another appeared to be cracked at its base. Like most similar ARs that gun will continue to operate without cleaning for a number of sessions, and it was functioning fine with one broken bolt lug. If, however, I hadn’t discovered the problem until another broke, that conceivably could have caused significant damage, not just an interrupted training session. Structural failures can also sometimes lead to dangerous conditions beyond reliability issues.





Failures like that usually occur when the gun is being fired, and if I hadn’t cleaned the rifle, I probably would not have discovered the problem until the gun stopped working. That’s why I tell my law enforcement students to clean their guns if they want them to work the next time.

* The rule is not absolute because I have a number of guns that are used for training only and others that are kept for possible serious purposes. The training guns don’t always get cleaned every time because they usually work just fine if they’re not. I don’t do my weight training every day either, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t. And the guns that are used for both training and are kept for possible serious purposes are cleaned every time: one round or hundreds.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: sigfreund,

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
Some people have scoffed at my (not-absolute*) rule that I clean my guns only if I want them to work the next time I fire them. But their scoffing is oblivious to the fact that cleaning guns is about more than getting them clean. When we clean a gun we also inspect it, and although it’s unlikely the inspection will find anything other than that the gun is dirty, there are occasional exceptions.

totally agree with this. cleaning is also about inspection and learning in more detail the design of the firearm.

while i am not quite as 'white glove clean' as I once was -- they get a decent cleaning after every trip to the range.

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quote:

Originally posted by ArtieS:
Only corrosive ammo guns get cleaned day of shooting. Everything else gets cleaned when it is dirty or needs lubrication.

Pretty much this. Excepting old military surplus and some com block ammo, there is no harm letting a gun sit dirty.
I clean my guns more on a shooting volume schedule than each time shooting.
So roughly every 500 rounds or so. For some of my guns that means once every couple weeks on others once a year.
Many of the “don’t let the sun set on a dirty gun” advocates were raised by fathers who still lived during the corrosive primer era when not cleaning right away did cause problems, or brainwashed by the services to believe if they didn’t keep a gun white glove inspection clean it would get them killed.

I make a distinction between cleaning the entire firearm and cleaning only the bore.

Many years ago when I hunted, I did not clean my barrel bore after I sighted it in for the season.

Remember and take note of this regarding rifles: The first round through a clean barrel will impact in a different spot than one from a fouled barred.

And note: my hunting rifles were high quality, capable of 1/2" or less, five round groups with my handloads.

As far as my self defense handguns and AR rifles: I only run a dry Snake-Bore through the barrels.

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I don't shoot as much as I would like to, especially with the ammo situation recently and when I do it's with my regular carry gun.

My routine to to come home and field strip, clean and lube so it goes back into the holster lubed and lint free for a while.

I guess my whole thing was not whether or not I would clean them, just when. I always clean my guns before storing long term and before shooting. I just wanted to know if letting them sit for up to two weeks after shooting them before cleaning them had any ill effects. I would think not in a climate controlled environment though wanted opinions.